


Little Miss Perfect

by orphan_account



Category: Butterfly Soup (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28640649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Noelle and Akarsha support each other through the trials and tribulations of being in highschool while having Asian parents. This happens in an extremely gay way, as they are both wlw disasters.
Relationships: Akarsha/Noelle (Butterfly Soup)
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Little Miss Perfect" by Taylor Louderman (*gaysp* who could have seen that coming)  
> Thanks for reading! :)

“Mrflgh,” Noelle muttered, clumsily dragging herself upright. Her vision swam as she sat up, her head aching.

“Noelle?” A voice greeted her while she regained her senses. She found herself on a hard school bench. Akarsha looked over at her, trying to hold back a giggle. _Must’ve fallen asleep. Hm._ _I guess I haven’t been sleeping well lately._

“Why… why does my head hurt?” Still barely awake, she glanced at Akarsha, who was looking away, not meeting her eyes.

“Well…… I had to wake you up somehow?” Akarsha snickered deviously, backing away in advance of Noelle’s wrath.

“So… you hit me in the head?!” Noelle glared daggers at Akarsha, who grinned smugly. Akarsha continued backing up, hands up in the air.

“…maybe?” Noelle’s glare intensifies, and Akarsha immediately turned tail, sprinting in the opposite direction. “Class starts in a few minutes!” Noelle sighed, checking the time. Akarsha, for once, was correct, so Noelle reluctantly diverted her attention from Akarsha’s death to making it to class on time.

She ambled over towards her next class, AP Physics 1, still barely awake. As her class began, the teacher reviewed material she’d already learned multiple times over, and she began to zone out. She started to lose focus, hearing but barely processing the teacher’s words. Unfortunately, she didn’t share this class with anyone she was close to(not that she would spend class time dawdling), so she had little option but to sit in silence, acting as if she was intently listening. She glanced at the clock, which told her there would still be another half hour of kinematics to suffer through.

The rest of the class was a blur, Noelle barely conscious until the bell delivered its ear shattering screech throughout the school. Her next class, AP Calculus BC, would be the most painful one of the day. They finished their unit test a few days ago, and they would likely be getting them returned today. She was a little nervous, despite being confident she would receive a full score. The class was curved, and she knew she would have the highest score. However, she was more concerned about the raw test score than anything else.

On her way towards the classroom, she caught Akarsha trying to sneak by from the corner of her eye. She deftly walked over, tapping her on the shoulder. “You are dead,” Noelle hissed.

Akarsha smiled, responding, “Nah, you love me”. Noelle gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to look intimidating.

“No, I most certainly do not”. However, Akarsha’s quip lightened the mood enough for Noelle to nearly forget about her impending doom. She tried to restrain a smile from appearing on her face, with limited success.

They entered the class about a minute early, and sat in their respective seats. The teacher allowed them to choose seats in this class, so of course Akarsha chose to sit right beside Noelle, allowing her easy access to bother her. Obviously not because they were fr- because they tolerated each other.

The class immediately opened with the teacher announcing the return of their tests. The entire class sighed, bracing themselves for Noelle to annihilate their curve. The teacher began announcing names, and once Noelle heard her name called, she walked up to take her test. She placed her test facedown on her desk, not glancing at it once. The teacher allowed them to take their tests home, both a blessing and a curse. While it meant that Noelle could check her scores in private rather than the middle of class, it created the risk that her parents would find it. She had gotten into the habit of telling her parents that the teacher wouldn’t let the tests leave the classroom, and thus they would only ever be able to see the curved score.

One short lecture later, it was lunch, and she placed her test into a folder, slipping it neatly into her backpack. Akarsha, on the other hand, stuffed her test into her backpack with no thought to organization or neatness. “How you ever find anything in that disaster, I’ll never know”. Noelle grumbled over Akarsha’s horrible organization skills, leaving the class room side by side with her. “I’m going to go to the restroom, no need to wait for me”. This was her standard excuse to check her test scores alone. Akarsha nodded, and headed towards Diya and Min alone.

Noelle headed to the nearest restroom, hiding inside a stall. She pulled her test out of her bag, and shakily turned it to see her score. Her eyes widened once she saw the red eighty-eight on the front of her page. She froze in shock and terror, wrapping the test paper in a death grip. _Shit. Fuck. What the fuck. I’m so dead. I can’t believe I got an 88. I shouldn’t be failing like this. I’m incompetent. I’m worthless. I’m a failure. I’ll never be able to succeed if I’m like this. I can’t do this._ Noelle was brought out of her spiral by the sensation of tears dripping onto her hands. Noelle’s mind blanked, resting her face into her arms and sobbing quietly.

“Noelle?” Noelle instantly recognized the voice, and curled up tighter into herself. Akarsha was the last person she wanted seeing her like this, so she sat in silence, hoping she’d leave and look somewhere else. Noelle felt her phone buzz, and delicately, she removed it from her pocket, careful not to make any noise. It was a message from Akarsha. “r u okay? it’s been 15 minutes and i cant find u anywhere”.

Noelle grimaced, but was surprised when she heard herself mutter, “I’m in here, please don’t come in”. Through the bottom of the stall door, she saw Akarsha walk over, and sit on the floor in front of the stall.

They sat in silence for a short while before Akarsha spoke up. “How can I help?” Noelle could hear genuine concern in her voice, a rarity for Akarsha, who was constantly joking and poking fun at others. Noelle slid the paper under the door, crumpled and damp. After a short moment, she heard Akarsha quietly say, “Oh”. A few seconds later, she continues, “Do you… want to talk?”.

Noelle looked down silently, eventually responding, “Okay…”

“Um, specifically, how are you feeling about this?” Akarsha fidgeted with the paper, feeling quite out of her element.

“I guess I’m angry at myself for doing so poorly, and scared my parents will find out…” Noelle’s words were shaky, her breath unsteady after crying for so long.

“Well, um, let’s go through it one at a time? This was a difficult test, and you still were at the top of the curve. You still did an incredible job, Noelle…”

“It just- I have to do better than that, though… I should have done better… I should’ve studied more, I could have done more…” Noelle exhaled, struggling to put her feelings into words.

“Who tells you you should? Why do you have to? You can always do more, Noelle. If that’s your standard, you’re always going to feel unsuccessful”.

“I have to do better because… Oh… I guess my parents play a role…” Noelle buried her head in her hands, closing her eyes. Before Akarsha could respond, she continued, “But I suppose part of it is me as well… It feels like the only thing I’m good for is being smart, or good at academics, so if I’m not successful enough at that, then… I’m just a failure… Not good for anything…”

“Can I come in?” Akarsha’s voice was gentle, full of concern and empathy.

Noelle nodded, then, realizing Akarsha couldn’t see her, mumbled, “Okay…”, unlocking the door.

Akarsha stepped into the stall, then, kneeling in front of Noelle, lightly placed her hand against Noelle’s cheek. “You’re not a failure, Noelle. And I know it might be hard for you to believe that, but it’s true. You’re so much more than just being smart, Noelle. You’re an incredible person, and an incredible friend…”

Noelle shook her head, responding, barely audibly, “I’m not a good friend to you, or Min-Seo, or even Diya… I’m not like you… I know I’m rude, and abrasive, and not fun to be around”.

Akarsha shook Noelle softly. “Look at me, Noelle. I’m going to tell you that none of that is true. While you have a hard time expressing your emotions sometimes, I know you care about us, and I care about you, okay? I promise that we’re friends not because you’re smart, or successful, or talented. I like being friends with you because you’re a wonderful person with a good heart, past your prickly exterior. You’re a good person, Noelle”.

At this, Noelle leaned forward, resting her face on Akarsha’s shoulder, crying. “Thank- thank you, Akarsha…” Akarsha wrapped her arms around Noelle’s head, sitting patiently.

A few minutes later, they exited the restroom, Noelle’s eyes red and Akarsha’s trademark neon windbreaker a mess. When the bell rang, they both had not eaten, yet Noelle weakly smiled at Akarsha as they headed towards their next class.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm a little lost on how to continue this fic, so I'm going to end it here.  
> Thanks for bearing with me, and apologies for flaking on this fic. :(

Akarsha’s mind was a mess as she arrived home, flitting back to Noelle each time she tried to focus. She flopped lifelessly onto her bed, head clouded with worry. She mindlessly scrolled through her phone, until she was snapped out of her reverie by a buzz and a ding on her phone. It was a message from Noelle, and Akarsha couldn’t help but smile. “Hello, Akarsha. I am sorry that you had to see what you did today. Please forget everything that happened”.

Akarsha’s smile vanished. “absolutely not, noelle. im worried abt u, ok? i dont want to forget what happened, i want to make sure ur okay. noelle, how can i help?” A minute or so passed with no response, though it felt like an hour, and Akarsha suddenly began to regret sending that. _Shit. Did I make her uncomfortable?_ Akarsha sat up, fidgeting nervously as she stared at her phone.

Fortunately, her fears were alleviated by another message from Noelle. “I’m sorry for taking so long to respond. I appreciate the sentiment, but I assure you I am fine”. Akarsha frowned, but sighed in relief regardless.

“ok noelle. just know that if u need to talk im here for u, k?” This time, the response was almost instant.

“Of course. Thank you, Akarsha. Although, If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were being _soft_ , hm?” Akarsha’s face grew warm, a wide grin breaking out on her face.

“if *i* didnt know better id think u were expressing levity, noelle”

“Wow, I’m surprised you know what that means, Akarsha”.

Akarsha giggled, quickly tapping out a, “rude >:(”. She heard the sound of the front door opening, quickly adding, “i gtg, see u tmrw :)” as she slid her phone into her pocket.

She turned to her desk, acting as if she had been working the whole time. Her parents knocked on her door, then opened it. “Akarsha.” She glanced over her shoulder to see both her parents standing there, and the pit in her stomach grew. “You’re in 10th grade now. Have you thought about what majors you will be looking into?”

Akarsha grimaces, turning around. “I’ve still got some time before I will need to decide, right? I’ll look into it, okay?” Akarsha hoped this would appease them, and buy her some more time without having to worry about what the future may hold.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like her parents were on the same page. “You will need to figure it out sooner rather than later. If we know what you want to do we can begin to prepare, look at colleges, and figure out extracurriculars.”

Akarsha twitched uncomfortably, and an agonizing silence filled the room. Finally, Akarsha responded, “…Okay. I don’t know what major I want to do at the moment, but I will try to figure something out, okay?” Akarsha shut her eyes tightly, wishing for anything that could get her out of her situation.

“Fine. But you must figure something out soon”. As her parents left the room, she let out a sigh of relief, tension flowing out of her body.

That night, she slept poorly, with worries of the future gnawing relentlessly at her mind. Her concerns plagued her throughout the day, although she was too distracted to notice her own state of mind until Noelle pulled her aside during a break. “What’s wrong?” Noelle’s voice was thick with worry, her forehead creased.

“What do you mean? I’m fine…” The response came automatically for Akarsha, though she regretted it as the words came out of her mouth.

Noelle glared at her, unconvinced. “If you don’t wish to talk about it, that is fine. However, I want you to know that I’d be glad to listen to anything you may be concerned about, just as I know you would for me”. Noelle took Akarsha’s hand in both of hers, and Akarsha’s resolve broke.

“I- Okay. I’d like to talk about it…” Akarsha sat on the floor, curled up tightly into a ball. “It’s just, you know how my parents really want me to figure out what I’ll do for a living?” Noelle nodded. “I… don’t know… I don’t know what I want to do, I can’t think about the future. I’m… not good at planning ahead. I don’t have anything I’m good at… Like, you… you work really hard to move forward. You could… you could do anything and be fine. But… but me, I can’t do anything. I’m not smart, I… I just don’t know…” Noelle placed a hand gingerly against her shoulder, thumb gently running back and forth.

“You feel like futures are for other people… It’s hard to imagine your own future, right?” Noelle’s voice was soothing and smooth.

Akarsha felt her voice crack as she continued, as if she was about to cry, yet no tears gathered in her eyes. “Ye- yeah… that’s exactly it… I just- I don’t know what to do”. Noelle sat patiently, waiting for her to continue, but Akarsha remained silent.

Finally, Noelle spoke up. “I’m very sorry, Akarsha. Your parents have put you in a difficult situation, and that must be very stressful for you. But I know you, and I know that you’ll be able to get through this. I wish I could do more to help you, but I… I just want you to know I’ll be here for you, no matter what happens”. She spoke softly, yet firmly, taking Akarsha’s hand in both of hers.

They sat in silence for the rest of the break period, sidled up to each other. As the period ended, they stood slowly, and Akarsha buried her head into Noelle’s shoulder. “Thanks…” she mumbled, and Noelle could only smile, relieved.


End file.
